My oldest is in her last year of middle school. She is that gifted kid who will write a 20 page book report when the teacher only required something in the range of 5-10 pages. The extra effort is a combination of interest and perfectionism. She is a very efficient, diligent worker. She wants to attend a work-intensive IB program for high school next year. Between the demands placed on her by school and the demands she places on herself, I'm worried.
Lately, we are having huge clashes over how much time and effort she puts into her homework at the expense of other aspects of life. I realize that there may be some teen rebellion against family seeping into the equation but I don't think that is all of it. This month, she is "off-season" for sports and it has been like pulling teeth to get her to do any exercise. She begged off helping her siblings make dinner on Sunday night - a once a week kid duty in our house - due to homework. She complained about weekend brunch with grandpa because it takes away from homework time. Over the Thanksgiving break, they had the week off school so we went skiing on Monday. While sitting on the lift, she told me that she had a nagging voice in her head that she should be doing homework. This last one really bothered me because she still had six more days before she had to go back to school.
How have others encouraged a good life balance in their teens, particularly girls?
